Cluster Chronicles
by Aleksei Fyodor
Summary: We all know the story of the fabled Commander Shepard, however we know little in the way of the galaxy in which he would come to save. Cluster Chronicles is the stories of those individuals that had a hand in the galaxies making.


**Cluster Chronicles – "Seventeen" – The Tales Of Argos Rho**

**The Sea Goddess**

-This first story of the Argos Rho Cluster Chronicles takes place in Earth's 17th century  
>or 1600's in the cluster of Argos Rho. Argos Rho was named both after<br>the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet: Rho; as well as Odysseus's dog Argos  
>from the 17th book of The Odyssey. The setting of the story is newly colonized Illium<br>(colonized in 1617), Thessia (the Asari home world) and the Gorgon system  
>in Argos Rho and deals with the discovery of the planet Sharblu.-<p>

Keyed to the newly risen sun, the shades that served to tint the windows during the night began to gradually fade, allowing the rays of a new day to gently caress the floors and walls of Lira Saloas' room. Light began to fill the small bedroom of the hotel, inching its way further along every surface until it blanketed the bed that Lira slept in. With sleep still clouding her head and her vision, Lira was finally able to bring herself to open her eyes and face this intrusion by Tesale's sun. Glancing over at the clock positioned at her bedside table she began to feel cheated. It had seemed mere hours ago that she had finally been able to return to her room and get some precious sleep. The fact that it 'was' only mere hours ago was a regret that hung heavily on Lira's awakening mind as she pushed back the covers of her bed and precariously worked her way into a sitting position on the bedside.  
>Sleep had become a luxury in the months since Lira had left her home world of Thessia to arrive here on Illium. Often times she found herself forgetting what was so important about this whole survey run that she had to uproot her life for a year or more. Trying to grasp at the memories that early in the morning was akin to closing one's fist to clutch water, she could feel it there but the harder she attempted to hold onto it the more it pressed through the cracks in her tired mind. Fighting off the last fingers of sleep clawing at her, trying to entice her back to the comfortable hotel bed, Lira's gaze drifted, gazing unfocused into the distance as the rush of memories came as a flood.<p>

The noise in the plaza was almost deafening. Everywhere there was chatter, both important and unimportant; between friends or strangers, with hawkers calling out the benefits of buying their wares. Set interspaced around the plaza, advertisements were rambling on through their holograms about upcoming movies, games, products, sports, news, and anything else there exist an interest for. The plaza was relatively small and served as a central hub for an assortment of different specialty shops. All of the shops were private owned small businesses operating out and away from under the large corporations that dominated most of Thessia. The stores ranged from diners and dives, to clothiers; with others such as data pad suppliers and toy stores in between. There was a bank across the way bordered by a supplement shop and interior décor office. The plaza was a simple square with rectangular gardens cutting the whitewash tiling every now and again in which local flora and even a few exotic species resided well maintained. It was getting to be late afternoon, the plaza was rather busy and slowly gaining a steady stream of new socialites and shoppers.  
>Passing her fourth lewd advertisement of the "escort of your dreams, any race for any price" there was one hologram that managed to capture her interest. Though she could barely hear over the plethora of other sounds cascading through the small plaza she could recognize immediately from the nature of the image that it was a news broadcast. No doubt it was about the recent return of the probe sent deep into space in hopes of finding a new system to expand into. With the recent colonizing of the garden world Illium, the Asari were eagerly looking to further stars for new horizons to settle. It was for this reason that the Asari space program launched a number of probes into possible systems. One of the probes, a feeler from the first set launched, had returned some few days ago and the Asari's hopes, as well as their gossips, were set ablaze. That returning probe was the reason that Lira was passing through this busy plaza and not at home or enjoying the beautiful day doing some shopping or window gazing of her own.<br>The thought of the probe and the information that it might contain ignited something within Lira. Those many, many years spent studiously preparing for such an event to occur. Along with nine other Asari, Lira had been chosen as one of the ten crew members of a survey team to be sent in to assess the new potential system that the probe may have found. The crew of surveyors would be taking a public off-world transit cruiser to Illium. Once in Illium they would board a survey outfitted Corvette and would finally proceed to the system to investigate for possible expansion worlds or usable materials in the planets and asteroid belts. Renewed with a sense of purpose and giddy excitement, Lira quickened her pace to the transit station, eager to meet a few of the members of her new troupe that were here on Thessia. She was to gather with some of the team there on Thessia and travel together to meet up with the rest of the crew already on Illium. Lost in thought and anticipation Lira had scarcely noticed that she had covered the plaza within moments and already the sounds and activity that breathed life into the open square were diminishing. Focused on getting to the space port Lira was barely aware of the droning tune playing inside of one of the shops, a melodic number of Sharblu.

Lira stretched as she rose from the side of the bed. Lost in memories of what seemed like a century ago the sun had crept to the farthest reaches and now bathed the entire room in serene natural light. Construction near the equatorial regions of Illium was slow, because of this Lira was forced to stay in a small colony outpost closer to the polar region. The location, though far from the equator and most hot pockets, did not seem to matter much as most of Illium was either uncomfortably hot or fatally hot with not much in the way of in between. Development near the equator meant that the construction of immense skyscrapers was necessary to escape the sweltering surface heat. Despite the cooling systems in the tiny visitor hotel Lira was staying at she still found it uncomfortably hot when the sun was shining. It was impossible to sleep in anything beyond smallclothes, if even that; sooner to be in an oven rather than back in the bed blankets with the sun shining through the wall's large window.  
>Taking her time as she dressed Lira searched for that excitement that seemed so prevalent in the days leading up to this expedition. She found none. Not to say that Lira regretted accepting the invitation to join onto the survey team, she just found it increasingly difficult to stay positive and quirky in the face of constant oppression. Everything since leaving Thessia had become a battle in some sense or another. As Lira pulled her shirt over her head she noticed in her bathroom mirror that she was faintly grimacing. She quickly forced the negative expression back. Just because she no longer felt the positivity was no excuse to show it. Lira looked around the cramped space. Since the colony on Illium was rather small having just been founded, the residence in which Lira was staying were not the same lavish living spaces that Lira was accustomed to on Thessia. The small bathroom contained a sink, mirror, lavatory, and a place to wash with not much room provided. To Lira it seemed a tad claustrophobic. Regardless she finished dressing quickly and wet her hands to clear her eyes of any remnants of fading sleep that may still remain in them. She felt far from refreshed but she looked presentable and that was enough for her considering the circumstances of this morning.<br>Leaving the bathroom, Lira shut the door and begrudgingly made the messy bed from which she emerged so lifeless this morning. Satisfied with her handiwork Lira grabbed what little possessions she had brought with her from Thessia and walked to the door that led from her room to the hallway. Taking one last look of longing towards her bed Lira opened her door and walked through. The first step of an important journey for both her and the entire Asari race.


End file.
